I don't know what goes on in the head of people like Holmes, but I kind of doubt he just wanted some attention, particularly this kind of attention.

Where do you think it should be cut off? Should the news report the shootings at all? Should we pretend it didn't happen? Should it just say some "unknown assailant who is now in custody" did all this?

Unfortunately the internet "media" has basically dragged the traditional "mainstream" media down to their level over the past few years, to the point where getting information out "now" is better.

The motto of the news now seems to be kind of a version of the saying "It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission".... permission in the journalists case being taking time to gather the facts.

Happy Hours:ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha: How about we stop giving this asshole the attention he wants?

Does he have access to Fark in jail?

I didn't mean Fark, just in general.

I don't know what goes on in the head of people like Holmes, but I kind of doubt he just wanted some attention, particularly this kind of attention.

Where do you think it should be cut off? Should the news report the shootings at all? Should we pretend it didn't happen? Should it just say some "unknown assailant who is now in custody" did all this?

No, that would be ridiculous, but maybe--just maybe--we don't need to pore over every detail of his life. Even if he doesn't want attention; giving him it won't fix what happened, it won't stop someone else from doing the same thing.

dletter:Unfortunately the internet "media" has basically dragged the traditional "mainstream" media down to their level over the past few years, to the point where getting information out "now" is better.

The motto of the news now seems to be kind of a version of the saying "It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission".... permission in the journalists case being taking time to gather the facts.

It would be nice to have the new maxim be: "We may not be the first, but we're going to get it right."

dletter:Unfortunately the internet "media" has basically dragged the traditional "mainstream" media down to their level over the past few years, to the point where getting information out "now" is better.

The motto of the news now seems to be kind of a version of the saying "It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission".... permission in the journalists case being taking time to gather the facts.

Howard Stern fans have been pranking the media with phony scoops long before the internet was popular, just to point how shiatty the media's research is.

ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha:No, that would be ridiculous, but maybe--just maybe--we don't need to pore over every detail of his life. Even if he doesn't want attention; giving him it won't fix what happened, it won't stop someone else from doing the same thing.

Like it or not, it's what people seem to want. My biggest question in all of this is "why?". Sure, it won't prevent future incidents and it doesn't solve anything but it might give some insight.

I thought the memorial last night was kind of creepy. They recited the names of all the victims who died and the audience responded with "we will never forget" after each name. Really? They'll never forget those people? They'll probably never forget that 12 people died and maybe not forget that a few died shielding their girlfriends, but all 12 of them? I wonder how many of those people could repeat all 12 names today let alone next month or next year and yet they mechanically repeated "We will never forget" after each name was said.

That won't fix what happened either nor will it prevent anything like that from ever happening again in the future yet apparently some people felt it was very important.

They were mostly just ordinary people who got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. It happens all the time. It's just rare that it happens to so many people at once. What about all the other people who got killed just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Well, we never even heard their names.

What about John Wilkes Booth? Lee Harvey Oswald? Mark David Chapman? John Hinkley? Did having their names in the press spur others to copy them? Were they glorified in any way?

I don't think we should simplify history and just say some crazy guy killed someone or some people.

As if that vindicates them. Any ethical news organization worth its salt would have bothered to do some research in the first place. Instead, ABC used this tragedy as a chance to smear the Tea Party without any verification.

"Oops, our bad" after the damage is already done doesn't provide a whole lot of credibility when the mistake is a result of disregarding their own journalistic standards.

LinkJames Holmes, the suspect arrested in connection with the mass shootings at a screening of the new Batman movie early this morning in Aurora, CO, could be a registered Democrat, according to documents obtained by Breitbart News. Earlier, ABC News' Brian Ross and George Stephanopoulos speculated on Good Morning America that Holmes was a Tea Party member, based solely on a name appearing on a Tea Party website.

The James Holmes for whom Breitbart News has obtained documentation is 25 years old (the suspect has been reported as 24 years old). He has links to addresses in both Colorado and San Diego, where his mother has been reported to be from, according to news reports. He was issued a traffic citation in 2011--his sole run-in with the law. The same is true for the suspect arrested in connection with the shootings, according to reports. Update: Fox News reports that the suspect has a California-issued social security number, as does the man in the documents obtained by Breitbart News--a significant correlation, assuming the sources are independent.

Furthermore, the James Holmes for whom records were obtained by Breitbart News registered as a Democrat on June 14, 2011. He registered from an address in La Plata County, Colorado, and his status is listed as "inactive."

Breitbart News has not confirmed that this James Holmes is in fact the suspect, but the details above appear to match closely. There are certainly more facts in our documents than in ABC News' irresponsible speculations.

Update (12:21 EDT): I remind readers that we have not, as of yet, confirmed that this James Holmes is in fact the suspect. Attempts to reach this James Holmes by telephone have not been successful. In addition, it appears there are several individuals using the same social security number listed to the James Holmes in our documents. We have also obtained documentation for a James Holmes in Aurora, CO whose address may match that of the suspect but whose date of birth and voter registration cannot currently be obtained.

Update (12:49 EDT): Newly-released information on the suspect's birthdate (which, as indicated in our initial report, was a slight mismatch), combined with new details Breitbart News has obtained about the suspect's likely addresses, together suggest that the suspect may, in fact, not have been registered to vote.

"Hey, you guys want to be reckless and report something that may not be true? TWO CAN PLAY THAT GAME."

Happy Hours:ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha: No, that would be ridiculous, but maybe--just maybe--we don't need to pore over every detail of his life. Even if he doesn't want attention; giving him it won't fix what happened, it won't stop someone else from doing the same thing.

Like it or not, it's what people seem to want. My biggest question in all of this is "why?". Sure, it won't prevent future incidents and it doesn't solve anything but it might give some insight.

[...]

I don't think we should simplify history and just say some crazy guy killed someone or some people.

You say it sarcastically, and yet, this is the only answer to "Why?" you will ever get. There is nothing preventable and almost nothing predictable about mental illness, not until we can reprogram the brain.

Slightly off topic, and I'm sure it's been discussed already, but was/is he really calling himself the Joker? Or is that just an assumption the media is making because of the red hair? Because I can't think of a single incarnation of the joker that had red hair, it's always green-ish

Happy Hours:ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha: No, that would be ridiculous, but maybe--just maybe--we don't need to pore over every detail of his life. Even if he doesn't want attention; giving him it won't fix what happened, it won't stop someone else from doing the same thing.

Like it or not, it's what people seem to want. My biggest question in all of this is "why?". Sure, it won't prevent future incidents and it doesn't solve anything but it might give some insight.

Happy Hours:ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha: No, that would be ridiculous, but maybe--just maybe--we don't need to pore over every detail of his life. Even if he doesn't want attention; giving him it won't fix what happened, it won't stop someone else from doing the same thing.

Like it or not, it's what people seem to want. My biggest question in all of this is "why?". Sure, it won't prevent future incidents and it doesn't solve anything but it might give some insight.

I thought the memorial last night was kind of creepy. They recited the names of all the victims who died and the audience responded with "we will never forget" after each name. Really? They'll never forget those people? They'll probably never forget that 12 people died and maybe not forget that a few died shielding their girlfriends, but all 12 of them? I wonder how many of those people could repeat all 12 names today let alone next month or next year and yet they mechanically repeated "We will never forget" after each name was said.

That won't fix what happened either nor will it prevent anything like that from ever happening again in the future yet apparently some people felt it was very important.

They were mostly just ordinary people who got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. It happens all the time. It's just rare that it happens to so many people at once. What about all the other people who got killed just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Well, we never even heard their names.

What about John Wilkes Booth? Lee Harvey Oswald? Mark David Chapman? John Hinkley? Did having their names in the press spur others to copy them? Were they glorified in any way?

I don't think we should simplify history and just say some crazy guy killed someone or some people.

I'm not suggesting we simplify history, but this isn't about history, it's rubbernecking.

That the reporter went public with this "fact"was because it fit his agenda. He never stopped to consider that James Holmes is a very common name and that the demographic of the Tea Party tends to be middle aged when the shooter was already at that point known to be a young adult or teenager. Further the reporter had no idea that the James Holmes of the Tea Party website was even a real person. How many fake alts are floating around on the web right now?

The reporter should be fired for not asking questions a high school journalist should have.

Lumpmoose:Didn't the Tea Party rumor originate on the web? ABC didn't "immediately check the Tea Party website" but stupidly reported an unsubstantiated internet rumor.

Either way, you really should vet stuff like that if you're a major news agency, or you might end up looking like an unprofessional jackass at best or a partisan hack at worst. Network news is held to a higher standard than a blogger.

TDWCom29:Slightly off topic, and I'm sure it's been discussed already, but was/is he really calling himself the Joker? Or is that just an assumption the media is making because of the red hair? Because I can't think of a single incarnation of the joker that had red hair, it's always green-ish

That's what the cops are saying...

The man in custody for allegedly killing 12 people at the screening of the latest Batman movie in Aurora, Colorado told authorities after the shooting that he "was The Joker," NYPD police commissioner Ray Kelly said today.

xant:Happy Hours: ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha: No, that would be ridiculous, but maybe--just maybe--we don't need to pore over every detail of his life. Even if he doesn't want attention; giving him it won't fix what happened, it won't stop someone else from doing the same thing.

Like it or not, it's what people seem to want. My biggest question in all of this is "why?". Sure, it won't prevent future incidents and it doesn't solve anything but it might give some insight.

[...]

I don't think we should simplify history and just say some crazy guy killed someone or some people.

You say it sarcastically, and yet, this is the only answer to "Why?" you will ever get. There is nothing preventable and almost nothing predictable about mental illness, not until we can reprogram the brain.

There was no sarcasm intended. I'm not saying this incident could have been prevented or predicted. There are lots of different kinds of crazy. The news (as well as history) should inform people and if possible explain the motivations.

In centuries past this guy might have been explained as being possessed by the devil. That's really not all that different from saying he was simply "crazy". Not all "crazy" people decide to kill a bunch of other people they don't even know. Not all crazy people are homicidal or suicidal. Some of them enjoy their insanity. Others suffer through it.

But whatever - just believe they're all just crazy if that's what you want.

With all the accusations against the tea party, can any one show me even one case where members of Tea Party actually engaged in violence? I know the media has a vested interest in promoting the narrative that they tea party is a bunch of violent extremists, but it is getting ridiculous.

What about the other twenty odd men with the same name as the mass murderer? Don't they deserve fifteen minutes of fame for having the same name as a notorious killer?

I looked at a website that showed the names, ages, and homes (photos!) of all the James Holmes in Aurora. There were, IIRC, about 24 of them. Most of them were 60-year-olds, with some younger or older. Aurora must be a wild party town when most of the people with a randomly selected name are sixty or older. Typical suburban bedroom community--stable population that settled there about twenty to thirty years ago.

But don't these middle-aged white guys deserve some excitement in their lives, too? Why should some random guy get all the attention? Why should some other random guy get all the attention that is left over?

James Holmeses should form a No James Homiesy Club, to exclude every Jame Holmes who is either James Holmes the killer, or James Holmes, the Tea Bagger.

With all the accusations against the tea party, can any one show me even one case where members of Tea Party actually engaged in violence? I know the media has a vested interest in promoting the narrative that they tea party is a bunch of violent extremists, but it is getting ridiculous.

Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that they scream about "Second Amendment solutions" and carry signs reading "We came unarmed - this time."

If your neighbors constantly hear you screaming threats of violence, then at some point there's a shooting in your neighborhood, then the cops might want to question you.

Sorry about the rotten proof-reading. Has Fark.com hired that proof-reader yet? It could be a really big thing. We could submit our illiterate rants to a proof-reader instead of mods and complain about him or her being a grammar and spelling Nazi who ruins our posts and slows down green-lighting.

A proof-reader, like a fact-checker, is one of those Old Media ideas that I believe is ripe for a come-back in the post-modern age.

Yeah, at his court appearance just now he looked remorseful, sleepy, in withdrawl of some serious meds, or currently on some serious meds. Perhaps it was nothing more than disinterest as well. Hard to say, but he sure didn't look smug and amped up for his exposure.